Food for thought

Food for Thought The Issues and Challenges of Food Security August 2010 Food for Thought: The Challenges of Food Security Prepared for the Population and Public Health Program, Provincial Health Services Authority Acknowledgements Researched and written by: Aleck Ostry, MA, M. Sc, PhD. [...] These are: availability of food, being the quantity of food available for a given population; stability of supply, meaning how reliable the food source is over time; accessibility of food, indicating the ease with which a population may obtain available food; and utilization of food, representing the cultural and culinary acceptability of the food, as well as the extent to which people hav [...] This chapter examines the relationship between income, food security and health by reviewing the evidence related to cost of eating nutritious food; the links between housing and food security; and barriers to accessing nutritious food in lower income neighbourhoods. [...] However, the changes made to the tool and methodology and continued collection of data will help to more accurately monitor the cost of a nutritious food basket in future years. [...] The Cost of Housing and its Effect on Food Security in BC The impact of provincial housing costs on disposable incomes, and therefore on food security, is important to assess.